


Adventures of the Lord Protector and the Duchess' new robe.

by HeirOfRage



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Hunters & Hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 23:16:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6774214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeirOfRage/pseuds/HeirOfRage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Jake, the bastard child living under the care of House Harley and its Duke, Hass, seeks a praise and appreciation as he sets on a small adventure through the cold winter wonderland to retrieve the one thing asked of him: the pelt of a bear for Jade's new coat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Adventures of the Lord Protector and the Duchess' new robe.

For as long as he was around, it wasn't easy for him.  
Being a bastard child, Jake's legend said he was an offspring of a soldier from the English land, and a local Prospitian whore. That's why everyone called him 'Jake the bastard' or 'Jake English' in a mocking tone. Except two people. A wealthy duke, Hass Harley, who took him in and brought him up, and his beautiful daughter, Jade, who Jake adored with the same love as a brother would adore his younger sister. To them, he was simply Jake. They treated him like family.  
Of course, the same couldn't be said about the few servants and soldiers around the mansion. Sure, they would be nice when the Duke or Jade were around. But as soon as they were gone? They would treat Jake like a lowly scum. They would bring him food and spit in it or throw it on the floor; the soldiers would mock him and shove him around whenever he passed.  
And Jake was just too nice not to say or do a thing. He would suffer through it if it meant he could stay in the mansion. 

Since he wasn't a noble, nor anyone of high class, the education he got was limited, often only consisting of things he would hear when he snuck into the room where Jade had her lesson. He didn't understand the principles of Prospitian economy nor politics well, he could barely grasp the knowledge of the Gods among other things; yet he was by no means stupid. He just had different qualities, hoping, that one day, he will be able to stand by Jade's side as her Protector. 

He had more qualities in combat than in intellect.  
He was neither short, nor tall like Hass himself, not even having that much muscle. He was rather on the thin side but not exactly malnourished. That didn't mean he wasn't strong. He had learned tips and tricks from the older gentleman, being able to enhance his strength a little. That was an obvious advantage in battle.  
By complexion, his skin was darker than the Harleys', equal to the workers that spent their whole day working on the harsh sun.  
His hair was, however, equally thick and dark chocolate brown like Jade's, more on the messy side as well. He never had a proper haircut - only what one of the servant ladies gave him - resulting in a comical cut where the hair on his right side was shorter than the hair on his left side, leaving his bangs to form a cow-lick like shape. It wasn't as bad as it sounded.  
Where his face was sharp and triangular, lips full, nose straight, cheekbones high and eyes dark, Hass' was more square and scarred, lips thinner and covered by a thick moustache, his nose was slightly angled with a small bump on the bridge as it was probably broken earlier and his eyes were visibly lighter but sharing the spark of excitement with Jake's. If one didn't know who Jake is, they could easily mistake him for Hass' son. 

_"Jake, I have a task for you."_

Those were the Duke's first words as they ate breakfast in silence in the bright Winter Garden that Jake loved so much. It was designed to have high, glass-made walls that brought in enough sunlight to sustain the flora inside - and if it wasn’t immense! There were overgrown plants all over the room, growing as they pleased. Jake loved this room. It was so full of life when everything outside was dead beneath a thick layer of snow and ice.  
The frost made beautiful ornaments upon the tall glass panes, captivating the boy’s eyes with their unique and unusual shapes. He almost overheard what the old man said, only turning when said man cleared his throat with a rumbling cough.  
Jake apologised silently, his breath carrying out a puff of steam-like vapour past his lips, swirling around like a snake before it disappeared up towards the ceiling.  
Once again, the Duke repeated what he said before. He has a task for Jake. They will be hosting the Winter Yule Ball soon, and he would want to give Jade a bear hide-clad cloak over her dress so she wouldn’t get cold - and of course, Jake’s task was to find the said bear, kill him and bring him back to the mansion.  
Jake was glad the older man trusted him with such a difficult task, but he himself didn’t. After all, it’s not every day you are asked to go wrestle a bear for its thick fur.

And so Jake set out on a journey. Dressed in a thick woolen dark green tunic, leggings with leather pants over them held by a dark belt secured around his waist, thick leather shoes and a half-circle hooded matching cloak with heavy scruffs of fur around his shoulders, he set off throughout the dead wasteland the Harley land’s forests were in winter.  
Trees tall, praying to the sky-high Gods, branches dry and dead, contrasting with the pale sky above. They gave him shivers, although he knew there is nothing to be afraid of. Yet.  
The sounds of dry sticks and the crunching of the wet snow beneath and around his feet made him feel welcome in the empty void of hollow wood around him, and, oh, the distant howl of a pack of wolves made his heart warm up. He wanted to howl with them; feel the adrenaline rush through his veins, hear his heart beat fast in his ears, in synchrony with the beasts’.  
There were times when this would happen. Randomly when both parties were on hunt. Jake’s green eyes would meet the yellow irises of the alpha and silently, they would agree on aiding each other. Hunts like these were always a success - Jake would bring back a deer, leaving one for the wolves to feast upon.

He was on the move, pulling his gloves higher up on his forearms before one of his hands came to instinctively rest on the sword on his hip. He hated to admit, but he was terrible with blade weapons and much more prefered a longbow or a crossbow despite the fact they were more of a Dersitian weapons of choice. He was great at aiming, but if anyone found out…  
He regularly snuck out of the armoury with a longbow and a quiver full of arrows, practicing in the nearby forest.  
It was the same now. Under his long cloak, he smuggled the weapon out of the armoury along with the quiver. He pulled them out, fastening the belt of the quiver across his chest, longbow firmly held in his left hand, right reaching for an arrow. He kept low to the ground, taking large, but slow steps as he neared a dark clump of moss under which a small cave could be found. He didn’t know whether this was the right place, but it was deep enough for an actual bear to live in there. Carefully, he slid down the icy slope, almost slipping and falling on his ass when he finally reached the ground.  
The untamed splendor that the moss formed was breath-taking and Jake almost forgot about his initial task, swiftly reminded about it by his gut and the faint sound of huffing. 

This is it.

He could almost hear the Wind whispering to him and feel the Sun gracing his face with rays of light. The Gods watched upon him, silently judging his actions. Despite Jake’s love for animals, he had to kill to survive - and each kill was a sacrifice to the Gods, an offer of honour and a sign of dedication. Times were getting tough with a possible war rising up between the kingdoms.  
With an uncertain blessing and a heavy heart, he began stepping forward towards the creature’s den. It was unfair to kill a sleeping opponent, but it wasn’t a choice - it was an order.  
So with a readied bow, raised in front of him, he entered the dark wet cavern, squinting in the dim light coming from outside. There, in front of him, laid a heavily-breathing bear with a thick, light fur - exactly the kind that would compliment Jade’s beauty. He didn’t want to do it. He breathed in shakily, his hands starting to tremble as well, but before he could fire, the beast awoke and with a quick turn and a powerful roar, made Jake back up out of the den and back on the icy ground around it. He was nevertheless scared, eyes wide open and staring at the yellow-ish fangs in front of him. And then, he fired, wincing along with the bear as the arrow pierced its large paw.  
Having no other choice but to back up and draw another arrow, Jake panicked and momentarily forgot how small he was when the bear’s paw came upon him, his claws slashing over his chest, leaving three long gashes across his torso. They weren’t deep, but they still stung like hell. Blindly, Jake fired another arrow, and then another, and another until there was none left.  
The beast was heaving, body full of arrows, still glaring its dark eyes in Jake’s direction, and to be honest, Jake wasn’t much better on it. He had to end it. He didn’t want either of them hurting anymore. Despite the anger in the bear’s eyes, he could also see a drop of a pleading expression, as if the beast begged him to kill it already. And Jake complied.  
With the last drops of his strength, he drew his sword, raising it skyward before bringing it upon the beast’s throat, cutting through fairly easily. Last cry echoed through the forest, scaring birds away. And then - dead silence. Nothing dared to make a sound.

Jake stood over the dead beast, face twisted with shared pain. Withdrawing his sword, he tossed it aside and fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around the corpse’s neck, burying his face in its thick fur, not even caring that he was getting drenched in the warm blood of his fallen opponent. 

“I am sorry. I am so, so sorry…” he was on the verge of letting a tear slip past the corners of his eyes, but instead only sniffled and wiped his face with his torn sleeve, breathing raggedly against the beast’s fur.  
He wasn’t always like this. But this...this wasn’t like his usual kills. This wasn’t a necessary kill. The beast could have lived on, if not for Jade’s cloak and probably its head as a new trophy on Hass’ wall.

With another sniffle, he got up, wincing at his own injuries. Collecting his weapon and arrows, he hid them under his cloak, grabbing one of the bear’s legs, beginning to drag its lifeless body across the forest, having to chase curious predators away once in a while.  
It took him thrice the initial time to get back to the mansion, throwing the door open. The soldiers rushed to his side, gawking at the bear, followed by Hass.  
Jake wanted to make him be proud of him, but words of praise never came. Firm nod was all he got before the dead animal was dragged away from his sight.

 

_Maybe someday else, Jake. Maybe someday else. ___


End file.
